Shireen

Blogroll

Meta

Archive for July, 2013

I flew out to Ayia Napa in Cyprus on Monday afternoon for the Summer Love Festival presented by DJ Cameo. Held on Makronissos Beach on Tuesday, some of the biggest names in music performed including Tinie Tempah, G FrSH, Angel, Fekky, Dot Rotten, Scrufizzer and more. The festival was a great success and it’s always nice to attend one on the beach in the sun! I also hit the afterparty at Club Ice where Ms Dynamite performed…

Sneakbo has kept the visuals coming from his ‘Certified’ EP and yet again has come with a hard beat from Rvssian on ‘Trust Nobody’. He also proves why he is one of the finest rappers at the moment in the UK as he spits some honest and harsh truths.

Young Don released the first video to be taken from his forthcoming mixtape ‘The Weather Man 2’ over two weeks ago. The tape will be hosted by DJ Khaled who is quite a talked about man at the moment after his marriage proposal to Nicki Minaj. For this track Young Don is joined by rapper Smiler and singer Starboy Nathan in this classy visual where they are seen on a private jet sipping champagne for this nicely flowing track.

This week sees another remix of Migos’ ‘Versace’. This time it’s from a West London artist who is one to watch in the UK rap game. Shizzle shows why on this track reaffirming his status with clever wordplay and a relaxed flow.

Ghetts really shows a different side to him after his short hiatus from making music, slowing things down but still oozing passion for this spoken word introduction to his forthcoming project ‘Rebel With A Cause’. Mr J. Clarke takes us on a reflective journey of his life in this mature and poetical piece called ‘Definition Of A Rebel’.

Chip’s been floating around releasing a few freestyles and net video’s but nothing too serious. It’s good to hear he’s fully back on track and working on a new album in LA. Yesterday saw him put out the audio to new track ‘Holy Water’ which sees him looking back on his life, career and decisions he has made and also the future. His lyrical ability is as strong as ever in this track.

This is another video to be released from Sneakbo’s Certified EP. Trust Nobody really for me shows Sneakbo at his finest as he spits some honest bars proving why he is one of the UK’s top calibre rappers.

The Wrap Up caught up with the Wu-Tang Clan’s own Raekwon as the crew get ready to come to the UK in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of their monumental debut album ‘Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)’. The record brought East Coast rap to permanent prominence, influenced the careers of artists from Jay Z to Nas and pushed hardcore hip-hop into the face of the mainstream. Simply put – they are your favourite rapper’s favourite rappers.

We gave Raekwon a call at his hotel in Milan during the clan’s tour through Europe, and the lyricist was in high spirits. He said of their forthcoming UK performances: “It feels good to come to the UK ‘cause we don’t get to come too often. We felt it was important for us to do an international tour and talk about the twenty years that we’ve been in the business – and of course, perform.”

Wu-Tang Clan members GZA, RZA, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Masta Killa, U-God, Inspectah Deck,Raekwon(and not forgetting the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard, who passed away in 2004) have been a collective for over twenty years; a long time in an industry that sees groups split frequently.

“You know, we brothers. We’re able to still have that respect for one another and love each other. Of course, we grew up in the business together, and everything’s been cool. But the politics and the business side of things – we have to protect ourselves when it comes to business, you know what I mean?

“Personally it’s been good but with business, we’re still learning and it’s important for everyone’s business to be right.”

Speaking of their upcoming album which was said to be called ‘A Better Tomorrow’, Raekwon revealed: “The name might change. It was a name that RZA wanted, but we all agreed that it might change. We’re still trying to sort out the production side of things; we still got a lot of stuff we need to do. We don’t wanna rush something that’s not what it’s meant to be. We taking our time right now.”

The crew will be performing in Manchester on July 25 at the O2 Apollo, and will then come to Brixton Academy on July 26 before performing at Bestival on September 5.

Mic Righteous is supporting the south London show. We asked the ‘Ice Cream’ artist to share his thoughts on UK rappers.

“We’ve been hearing a lot of guys getting strong with their music out there [in the UK] and it’s a good thing, because believe it or not, a lot of production that comes to the States are made by international artists and producers. Everyone is starting recognise hip-hop for what it is – one nation. Everybody’s growing, you know what I mean?”

Moving forward, not only can we expect a record from the collective, their first since ‘8 Diagrams’ in 2007, but we can also expect solo projects from the clique.

“I got an album coming out possibly at the end of the year called ‘Fly International Luxurious Art’. I’m still working on it right now and I feel good about it. Because it’s our twentieth anniversary, there’s gonna be multiple projects coming up from the whole of Wu this year.”

Colours is one of the most respected and best road rapper to come out of London, so when he dropped his mixtape ‘Where’s My Money Reloaded’ he sent the internet ablaze. Respected UK DJ’s Charlie Sloth and Ras Kwame have backed the 22 free downloadable tape which has features from K Koke, Stylo G and Gyptian. He also released the video to ‘Everything’ sampling Mariahs ‘I Give My All’ and like the mixtape sees him spitting nothing but real, life-riddled bars.

Young Don is gearing up for the release of a new mixtape the follow on from his last one The Weatherman, coming back for Part II this time with DJ Khaled hosting. He gives us a teaser of what to expect by dropping the video to ‘Harder Than Them’ a street track which we can assume to be on the tape.

At only 21, Lady Lykez is one of the best the UK has to offer in terms of her witty lyricism, her new track ‘I Love My Butt’ is no different. Topman described it as ‘a hip-hop party cut of the summer’ and she has had artists Lady Leshurr and Blizzard tweeting about it. Make sure you check it out.

Brixton rapper Sho Shallow along with partner Ard Adz puts out video and track after track, constantly impressing with not only the quantity but quality of their work too. This time Sho Shallow goes solo for new track ‘Intro’ which is the first track off his forthcoming mixtape ‘Girls In The Middle’.

Cashtastic released the visuals to ‘London Summer Day’ giving his fans something to enjoy now the sun has finally graced us for the summer. We heard the track last summer, but it doesn’t feel old with Cash tweeting, “Big up ‪@RAPCITYTV we shot this ‪#LondonSummerDay video last year, put it out a year later and it’s still fresh!”

Rap Up UK discussed the subject of haters in their recent mini documentary. They talked to artists such as Dru Blu, Margs, Political Peak, Pak Man, Fem Fel, Pound Sterling and more talking about the reason for haters such as people not wanting you to do better than them and how with success comes jealousy which breeds hate. What’s your thoughts on haters?

Rapper Yungen take to 1Xtra to give them the first play of his new track Money Doe Paper. He follows up from his mixtape Topic Of Discussion with his first official single produced by one many are talking about Diztortion.

Jaja Soze is one of the most original and honest rappers to the UK has birthed, and Misguided is no different. He enlists the help of singers Ruby Smith, Nylah and Don Jaga for this new thought provoking track.

He is one of the UK’s most respected and best road rappers. Check out the video to his new track Everything where we can hear sampling from Mariah Carey’s I Give My All and Colours spitting nothing but real bars.